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But those same hockey-starved fans might accord a standing ovation to Leafs Nation if Larry Tanenbaum proves to be a key conciliator Tuesday in New York.

The chairman of Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment, a moderate in this 80-day lockout, will join a mix of hawks and doves from the owners side who are meeting a players’ group in an effort to break the log jam.

“I think Larry has a reputation of being fair to players,” an NHL team executive said Monday. “If he has something to say, the players won’t think he’s trying to stick it to them.

“There’s such an element of suspicion around the talks right now. But having him there and him stating the league’s position might make the players sit back and think, ‘If Larry says it, it must be (genuine).’ ”

Tanenbaum, who knows something of delicate deal-making from a lifetime in major construction projects, has been down this rocky collective bargaining route before.

Eight years ago, trying to kick-start negotiations when the heads of the league and Players Association weren’t budging, he held a meeting at his Toronto home, at the behest of Pittsburgh player/owner Mario Lemieux and Leaf Tie Domi. Tanenbaum, the league’s Bill Daly and Lemieux represented the owners, with Domi and union leaders Ted Saskin and Trevor Linden also present.

The five-hour session, which Tanenbaum received league blessing to host, did not produce a deal, but depending on who you talked to, the frame work of that eventual CBA with the salary cap was either tentatively agreed upon or mirrored the final product. But any good will Tanenbaum gained with the players was erased a few months later after the season was scrapped and a testy board of governors meeting was held.

After Tanenbaum read a prepared statement outlining the Leafs’ desire for peace, he was verbally attacked by a couple of hawks. Shaken, he left the meeting and returned to Toronto.

Clearly he hopes for more civility this time. Though he is MLSE’s minority shareholder with 25% after Bell and Rogers took control a year ago, he’s still the ideal choice to deliver the Leafs’ viewpoint.

“I’m not sure what impact he will have at the meeting,” said former Leafs executive, player agent and hockey commentator Bill Watters. “But he’ll be representing the richest team in the league, one that is losing a lot of money the longer the lockout goes on. But Larry has been through the NBA lockout, too, and that’s in his favour.”

“There aren’t a lot of have-not owners in that group,” Watters added. “I don’t think he advertised himself to be there, unlike some owners, so the league must think he’s a good choice.”

Few, however, believe anything dramatic can come of Tuesday’s gathering, which will be followed by a board meeting the next day.

“It bothers me to think that something positive won’t come out of this process,” Watters said. “We’re all waiting for hockey to come back. But I can’t see Bettman turning it over to this new group and saying, ‘I guess the rest of us have been doing it wrong all along’. That goes for (union special counsel) Steve Fehr, too.”

The five NHL owners joining Larry Tanenbaum at the meeting with players on Tuesday in New York.

Ron Burkle, 60

Pens majority owner started as a bag boy at his dad’s grocery store in California and is now worth an estimated $3.5 billion ... College drop-out founded Yucaipa Companies. Big player in numerous companies such as Alliance Entertainment and the Ralphs food store chain in the U.S. ... Raised more than $1 million for Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign.

Murray Edwards, 52

Low-profile Flames’ co-owner is a Regina-born businessman who made it big in the Alberta tar sands and also holds a law degree from the University of Toronto ... Owns some resorts in the Canadian Rockies and is chairman of the Magellan Aerospace Corporation ... Member of the owners bargaining committee.

Jeff Vinik, 53

Tampa Bay Lightning owner also owns pieces of the Boston Red Sox and Liverpool Football Club ... Has degrees in civil engineering and MBA from Harvard ... A noted philanthropist in the areas of social change and well regarded by his players for keeping up team commitments to charities during the lockout.

Jeremy Jacobs, 72

Long-time Boston Bruins owner, as well as TD Bank Garden ... Runs the sprawling Buffalo-based Delaware North Companies ... Ranked 634th among billionaires in the world by Forbes ... Member of Bettman’s hard-line inner circle as chairman of the NHL board of governors.

Mark Chipman

Chairman of True North Sports which purchased the Atlanta Thrashers and moved them to Winnipeg in 2011 ... Has law and economic degrees from the University of North Dakota and built his fortune through car dealership and real estate ... A former American Hockey League executive of the year.

But those same hockey-starved fans might accord a standing ovation to Leafs Nation if Larry Tanenbaum proves to be a key conciliator Tuesday in New York.

The chairman of Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment, a moderate in this 80-day lockout, will join a mix of hawks and doves from the owners side who are meeting a players’ group in an effort to break the log jam.

“I think Larry has a reputation of being fair to players,” an NHL team executive said Monday. “If he has something to say, the players won’t think he’s trying to stick it to them.

“There’s such an element of suspicion around the talks right now. But having him there and him stating the league’s position might make the players sit back and think, ‘If Larry says it, it must be (genuine).’ ”

Tanenbaum, who knows something of delicate deal-making from a lifetime in major constru